Sportsbook at The Meadows Casino in Washington County set to launch

The Meadows Casino in North Strabane will launch its sportsbook Oct. 10, according to a statement from the casino.

This makes The Meadows the 10th legal, brick-and-mortar sports betting facility in Pennsylvania.

“It’s a fantastic day for The Meadows Casino, our team members, guests and Washington County” said Tony Frabbiele, vice president and general manager of The Meadows. “We are excited to bring this new amenity to The Meadows and are looking forward to the thrill and excitement of sports wagering.”

The sportsbook will be located in the casino space in an area previously branded as Vibe. It will include 15 ultra high-definition televisions, 18 self-serve betting kiosks, five ticket windows and a 26-seat bar with a full dining menu.

The Meadows will hold two days of test runs, open to the public with limited operating hours, Tuesday, Oct. 8 from 4 to 11 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 9 from 4 to 11 p.m.

Provided the state Gaming Control Board signs off on operations following the test run, The Meadows will hold an official ribbon cutting Thursday — just in time to collect bets for Thursday night football, said Kevin Brogan, vice president of marketing at The Meadows.

Former Steelers players Mel Blount and Rocky Bleier, former Penguins Bryan Trottier and Pierre Larouche along with former Pirate John Candelaria are all expected to attend the ribbon-cutting.

Normal operating hours, 10 a.m. to midnight, will then commence Friday, Brogan said.

The Meadows sportsbook is one of three facilities taking legal sports bets in Western Pennsylvania.

Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore first opened a temporary sports book in December 2018. The casino launched a newly renovated, $5 million permanent space Monday.

Presque Isle Downs Casino in Erie opened a sportsbook in July.

Sports betting handle — the dollar amount of bets placed — collected by online and brick-and-mortar Pennsylvania sportsbooks hit a new monthly record in August, taking in about $109 million, according to figures provided by the state Gaming Control Board.

That’s an 84% increase over the previous record of $59.3 million, which was set in July, according to analysts with sports betting site PlayUSA.com, which tracks sports betting developments across the country.

“Sports bettors almost universally bet on football, so it is no surprise that even with just one full week of college football games and NFL futures to bet on, that Pennsylvania would experience a significant uptick,” Jessica Welman, a sports betting analyst for PlayUSA.com, said in a September analysis of Pennsylvania’s sports betting market. “But with the NFL season now underway and more sportsbooks online, August’s successes are just a precursor to much bigger things ahead.”

Pennsylvaia collected about $2.2 million in taxes from sports wagering revenue in August and about $1 million in July, according to state Gaming Control Board figures.

Since launching in November 2018, Pennsylvania sports books have generated about $11.2 million in tax dollars for the state, according to figures complied by PlayUSA.com.

In comparison, New Jersey sportsbooks have generated about $28.9 million in tax dollars launching in June 2018, according to PlayUSA.com figures.